Hand guard



Dec. 1l, 1945. P. J. DIFFLEY HANDGUARD Peter T T. Diff1E y Filed June l2, 1942 www:

Patented Dec. 11, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 1 Claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a rearm and particularly an improved handguard therefor.

On modern military rifles, particularly of the type similar to U. S. riile. caliber :30. M1, the fore-end of the stock is anchored to the barrel by means of a metallic band which surrounds the barrel and has an extension below the barrel to securely grip the appropriately shaped fore-end of the stock. Such metallic band is generally referred to as the lower band. In prior designs of this rifle this lower band necessitated a two-piece wood handguard, one piece extending from the chamber end of the barrel to the lower band and the second piece extending from the lower band for a suitable protective distance along the barrel. The cross-section of both of these handguard members was reduced at the ends adjacent the lower band so as to t into slots in the lower band for securing purposes. To insure that these dovetailed ends would stay in position, it was necessary that each of the two handguard members be secured to the barrel in such manner as to prevent any excessive longitudinal movement of either of the handguards with respect to the barrel. This was accomplished by the snug fitting oi the rear handguard between the receiver shoulder and the lower band, and the front handguard between the gas cylinder assemblage and the lower band.

The resulting rigid construction can cause much diiiiculty in the nature of warping of the barrel. Such warping might be caused, for example, by the greater heat expansion of portions of the barrel than that of the wooden handguard which is secured thereto. Barrel strain also occurs in the assembly on the barrel of a slightly oversized gas cylinder assemblage, one end of which abuts against the end of the handguard assembly. This two-piece handguard arrangement further permitted the metallic lower band to be exposed and, since the lower band is in direct contact with the barrel, it attained substantially the same temperature as the barrel. As a result the arrangement was not only a menace to the operator, who might inadvertently grasp the rie in the vicinity of the lower band and receive a severe burn, but in addition considerable charring of the handguard wood occurred in those portions contacting the lower band. This factor is particularly detrimental when it is attempted to utilize a plastic handguard, failure of the plastic generally occurring at this point of localized heating.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a handguard assembly for a firearm wherein no metal surface is exposed intermediate its ends, yet metallic anchoring of the fore-end of the stock is attained. Another object of this invention is to provide a one-piece handguard of substantially uniform thickness so arranged as to substantially reduce the charring of the handguard caused by elevated temperatures of the metallic anchoring means. i

A further object is the production of a handguard particularly adaptable to use of plastic materials.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide a one-piece handguard having no metallic surface exposed intermediate its ends and arranged on the barrel so as to permit slight relative longitudinal movement of the handguard with respect to the barrel to thereby prevent warping or straining of the barrel by the handguard.

The `specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 represents an outline drawing of the improved handguard assembled on a irearm similar to the U. S. rifle, caliber .30, M1.

Fig. 2 is another View, partly in section, of the improved handguard in assembled relation as in Fig. l; the handguard and cooperating members being shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the handguard elements assemblage independent of the rearm.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the plane 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the plane 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the plane 6 6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a frontal view of the modied lower band utilized in the practice of this invention.

In Fig. 1 the handguard I is shown in assembled relation on a. rearm having a barrel 2, a stock 3, and a receiver 4. The rear portion of the handguard I, i. e. the portion to the rear of the fore-end of the stock 3, is roughly semi-circular in cross-section and surrounds the upper half portion of the barrel 2. The front portion of the handguard als`o has the same semi-circular crosssection surrounding the barrel but in addition has two tangential extensions la and Ib which project below the barrel to. surround the operating rod 5 of the firearm. A metallic U-shaped spacer 6 is inserted in the opening defined by the extensions Ia and Ib and lies between the barrel 2 and the operating rod 5. This spacer is inserted in and secured by longitudinal notches Ic and Id provided respectively in handguard extensions Ia and Ib and thus serves to brace the extensions Ia and Ib. Y

The handguard is secured to the barrel 2 at its front end in the usual manner by the metallic front handguard ferrule 1, This ferrule engages the front end of the handguard I in dovetailed relation and fits loosely around the barrel 2. Thus longitudinal movement of the handguard with respect to the barrel is possible. The rear end cf the handguard I is secured to the barrel by a conventional rear handguard band 8 which comprises a metallic semi-circular band tightly surrounding the handguard land having its ends 8a bent radially inward to engage longitudinal grooves 2a provided in each side of the barrel.

vBy providing the grooves 2a of a greater length than the width of band limited longitudinal movement of the handguard I with respect to the barrel is possible. The actual limitation on possible longitudinal motion of the handguard is provided at the rear by a shoulder 4a of the receiver 4, and at the front by the supporting ring 9a of the gas cylinder assemblage 9. The position of the supporting ring 9a is fixed with reference to the barrel by means of the rigid connection (not shown) of the gas cylinder assemblage S to the end of the barrel 2. The totall length of the handguard I with the front ferrule 1 attached is preferably slightly less than the distance between the shoulder la and the supporting ring 9a.

beginning of handguard extensions I a and Ib, an interior recess Ie is provided which followsv the contour of extension Ia, handguard I and extension Ib respectively. A metallic stock supporting member Iii seats in this recess. This ferrule comprises a circular band portion la which surrounds the barrel 2 and two depending extensions Iilb and Ille which dene a circular opening Id.

The size of the opening Id is such as to readily clear the operating rod 5 which is encompassed by the extensions Iilb and Illc. The stock supporting member It! is fixed on the barrel by a transverse pin I I which passes through the member I0 and engages a transverse groove 2b in the barrel 2. The fore-end of the stock 3 is dovetailed into a conventional metallic stock ferrule I2 which completely surrounds the fore-end of the stock.

This ferrule I2 is provided with av hollow cylindrical forward extension I2a, which It can readily be seen that the stock supporting member I0 limits the rearward longitudinal motion of the handguard I through its engagement with the base of recess Ie. Since the position of the member [il must necessarily be fixed relative to the fore-end of stock 3, the length of recess le should preferably be suicient to permit slight longitudinal movement of the handguard I relative to the barrel 2.

The handguard assemblage described thus has no hot metal surfaces exposed intermediate its ends. The thickness of the wood making up the handguard is' substantially uniform throughout, thereby reducing the possibility of localized charring and/or breakage. Furthermore, the foreend of the stock 3 is metallically anchored to the barrel 2 by the cooperation of the stock supporting member lli and the stock ferrule I2. If plastic materials are utilized for the handguard, it can be produced by one molding operation.

Since the construction described permits limited longitudinal movement of the handguard with respect to the barrel, the possibility of warping of the barrel by causes connected with the handguard is eliminated. Thus the heat expansion of the barrel produces no warping effect since the barrel is free of the handguard for longitudinal movement of the extent thereby produced. Likewise a. slightly oversize gas cylinder cannot produce strains in the barrel upon as'- semblage since the handguards possible longitudinal movement takesrup such ex'cess dimension.

I claim:

In a firearm having a shoulder at the junction of the barrel with theY receiver, a gas cylinder member iixed to the barrel'near the muzzle end, and a stock terminating between rsaid shoulder and said gas cylinder member, the improvement comprising a ferrule slidably mounted on the barrel behind said gas cylinder member, a one `piece non-metallic handguard arranged to be mounted between said ferrule and said shoulder, said handguard being shaped to surround the top surface of said barrel throughout its length and having a pair of integral, spaced extensions projecting below that portion of lthe barrel intermediate the stock and the gas cylinder member, the length of said handguard being slightly less than the distance between said shoulder and the extreme forward position of said ferrule, means for securing the front end of the handguard to said ferrule and means for securing the rear en`d oi` said handguard to the barrel, said last-mentioned means permittingV limited longitudinal movement of the handguard with respect to the barrel, a metallic band member surrounding said barrel and Yconstructed and Varranged to support the forward end of said stock, said handguard having an interior recess therein to accortimodate said band member, thereby providing a continuous non-metallic surface -between the front and rear end portions of said handguard.

PETER JEROME DIFFLEY," 

